Ginger Apple Streusel Cake

Ginger Apple Streusel Cake
4.5 (2 ratings)
Looking for the perfect holiday dessert to share with your family? This cake recipe has all of the fall and winter flavors in it. Enjoy the sweetness from the apple while having the delicious spices found in a gingerbread cookie. This recipe is by Diane Rossen Worthington and was originally published in the Chicago Tribune.
Prep Time
20
minutes
Cook Time
45
minutes
Servings
12
Ginger Apple Streusel Cake
Total time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
  • 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
  • 8 tablespoon (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 large apple, (granny smith or golden delicious), peeled, cored and roughly chopped
  • 1 1/4 cup buttermilk, mixed with 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • powdered sugar, for dusting
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Butter and flour a 10-cup bundt pan or a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, flour and butter, and cut together with two knives, your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles large bread crumbs.
  4. Mix in the walnuts and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
  5. Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.
  6. Stir in the crystallized ginger and set aside.
  7. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  8. Gradually add the sugars, continuing to beat until very light.
  9. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well before adding the next. (Don't overbeat or the cake will be tough.)
  10. Gently stir in the chopped apples.
  11. With the mixer on low speed, alternately beat in the flour mixture and the buttermilk, beating until the batter is just mixed.
  12. Spoon half of the batter into the pan and sprinkle with 1/3 of the streusel.
  13. Spoon on the remaining batter and smooth out to an even layer.
  14. Sprinkle the remaining streusel evenly on top.
  15. Pat it down gently.
  16. Bake until the top of the cake is firm and the streusel is crisp and golden brown, (a skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean), about 40 to 45 minutes.
  17. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.
  18. If using a bundt pan, invert the cake onto a wire rack and then invert it back onto a serving platter so that the streusel side is on top.
  19. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.